Harwich Lifeboat Station

Harwich Lifeboat Station is located at The Quay, at the northern tip of the Harwich peninsula, which sits on the southern side of the confluence of the River Stour and the River Orwell, on the coast of Essex.

A lifeboat station was established at Harwich in 1821, by the Essex Lifeboat Association, but was closed in 1843. The station was re-established by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) station in 1878.

The station serves a particularly busy section of coastline with Harwich being a very busy ferry terminal, with the Port of Felixstowe, the United Kingdom's busiest container port, just across the estuary.

The station currently operates the Severn-class All-weather lifeboat 17-03 Albert Brown (ON 1202), on station since 1996, and the B-class (Atlantic 85) Tierney Harvey & Sonny Reid (B-907) Inshore lifeboat, on station since 2018.

A lifeboat was first stationed at Harwich in 1821, and was named Braybrooke, in honour of Richard Griffin, 2nd Baron Braybrooke, Lord Lieutenant of Essex. The lifeboat was financed by the Essex Lifeboat Association, but no funds were available for a boathouse, so the Braybrooke was moored in the harbour. On the Suffolk side of the estuary at Landguard Fort there was a second lifeboat, the Orwell, which was eventually sold and converted to a yacht. The Harwich lifeboat had ceased operations by 1843, and the fate of the Braybrooke is unknown.

Following the wreck of the passenger steamship SS Deutschland on Kentish Knock on 6 December 1875, local appetite for a Harwich lifeboat was much increased. No time was wasted. On 6 January 1876, just one month after the loss of the Deutschland, and following a visit to Harwich by the RNLI Inspector of Lifeboats, a meeting of the RNLI committee of management resolved to establish a station at Harwich. Within the month, a new 35-foot self-righting 'Pulling and Sailing' (P&S) lifeboat was dispatched, towed from the River Thames to the station free of charge, by the steamship Lord Alfred Paget. The carriage and equipment were also freely transported by the Great Eastern Railway.

On 24 February 1876, it was recorded that a lease, at a nominal annual rent, had been granted by Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for War, for the site at Timberfields (now on Angelgate), for a proposed lifeboat house costing £247.

Funding for the lifeboat, and its carriage and equipment, was provided by a gift from Miss Burmester of London. At a ceremony on 7 September 1876, the lifeboat was paraded through the town, the station was officially opened, and after a service by Rev. S. Farman, the lifeboat was named Springwell in accordance with the donor's wishes.

The Springwell remained at Harwich from 1876 until 1881 and was credited with saving the lives of 61 people, 23 of which had been saved during the launch to the barque Pasithea of Liverpool on 16 February 1883.

In 1889 the RNLI obtained its first steam-powered lifeboat, the Duke of Northumberland (ON 231), which was sent to Harwich in 1890. The station with Springwell became known as Harwich No. 1 station, whilst the mooring near Halfpenny Pier where the Duke of Northumberland was kept afloat, became the No. 2 station. In 1892, the Duke of Northumberland was sent to New Brighton on Merseyside. It was replaced in 1894 by another steam lifeboat, the City of Glasgow.

In 1902 the No. 1 station lifeboat Springwell, the second boat to bear that name, was scrapped. In 1904 station No. 1 was given another Watson-class lifeboat, Ann Fawcett. In the years leading up to World War I, Harwich was used for the testing of new motor lifeboats which were sent to other stations. In 1912 the Ann Fawcett was withdrawn from service once again leaving the City of Glasgow the only lifeboat on station.

By the breakout of the First World War in 1914, the City of Glasgow, the second to bear this name, was the only lifeboat at Harwich. In 1917 the Admiralty commandeered the lifeboat for patrol duties. Harwich Lifeboat Station was closed, leaving the area to be covered by Aldeburgh Lifeboat Station to the north and Walton and Frinton Lifeboat Station to the south.

Harwich Lifeboat Station did not reopen until 1965, when increased traffic to the Harwich ferry as well as the Port of Felixstowe across the estuary necessitated more lifeboats in the area. A 16 ft inshore inflatable lifeboat boat was stationed for the summers of 1965 and 1966. In September 1967, a 44 ft Waveney-class lifeboat, Margaret Graham, was sent to Harwich. After a successful two-year trial period, the Margaret Graham was made a permanent fixture at Harwich, where she remained until being replaced by the John Fison in 1980.

The most notable incident attended by a Harwich station lifeboat was the European Gateway incident of 19 December 1982. The roll-on roll-off car ferry European Gateway was leaving Felixstowe for Zeebrugge when it collided with the train ferry Speedlink Vanguard approaching Harwich Harbour. The bow of the Speedlink Vanguard struck the European Gateway amidship, and she quickly capsized to the point where only half the starboard side of the vessel was above the water. Numerous lifeboats and tugs responded to the scene and began rescuing passengers from the European Gateway within minutes. The Speedlink Vanguard launched her own lifeboat to assist. Within an hour all passengers but six had been rescued. By the time the John Fison arrived, all that remained was to search for the bodies. The John Fison recovered two bodies, three others were located by other boats, and one remained unaccounted for.

In 1997, Harwich acquired 17-03 Albert Brown, a Severn-class fast lifeboat built by Green Marine in 1995. She is 17 meters long, 5.5 meters wide with a depth of 1.38 meters, with a top speed of 25 knots and a range of 250 nautical miles. The Albert Brown was financed with bequest from Victoria Brown to commemorate her husband Albert Brown, and christened by Terry Waite CBE on 25 May 1997.

In 2002, Harwich acquired the Sure and Steadfast (B-789), an B-class (Atlantic 75) second generation rigid inflatable boat (RIB). She was named on 18 May 2003 after the motto of the Boys' Brigade in recognition of the fund raising efforts for the RNLI by that organization.

In 2003, funds were secured for a new boathouse and facilities, at a cost of £1.25 million.

On 21 May 2018, the new Atlantic 85-class lifeboat Tierney Harvey & Sonny Reid (B-907) arrived in the town to a warm welcome from crowds and supporters. She was funded by The John & Elizabeth Memorial Trust, which was set up in 1998.

The 1876 boathouse at Timberfields was opened by the Harwich Society as a lifeboat museum in 1994. The centrepiece is Oakley-class motor lifeboat Valentine Wyndham Quinn (ON 985) which had been stationed at Clacton-on-Sea from 1968 until 1984. After further service in Ireland, it was first displayed at Cromer. Being rather larger than the 'pulling and sailing' lifeboat that the building had been designed for, the lifeboat had to be partly dismantled to fit through the doors.

The following are awards made at Harwich

• RNIPLS Silver Medal

Samuel Wordley – 1829

William Mudd – 1829

William Jennings, Master of the smack Spy – 1832

• RNLI Silver Medal

William Newson, Master of the smack Alfred – 1855

William Lewis, Master of the smack Tryall – 1856

Thomas King, Master of the smack Paragon – 1862

Thomas Adams, Master Mariner – 1862

Henry Bacon – 1862

Benjamin Lambeth – 1862

John Lambert – 1862

Robert Scarlett – 1862

George Wyatt – 1862

(all of the smack Volunteer)

John Carrington, Master of the Steam Tug Liverpool – 1876

William Britton, Second Coxswain – 1881

Captain St Vincent Nepean RN, the Institution's District Inspector – 1881

William Tyrrell, Coxswain – 1893

• RNLI Bronze Medal

Petty Officer Kenneth Verdun Lee, Coxswain – 1983

Seaman Barry James Warner – 1983

(of the Trinity House pilot vessel Valour)

Second Officer Michael Anthony Wright – 1983

Seaman Thomas Edward Wakelin – 1983

(of the Trinity House pilot vessel Patrol)

• A Framed Letter of Thanks signed by the Chairman of the Institution

R. Ramplin, Helm – 1981

P. Dawson, crew member – 1981

P. Brand, crew member – 1981

Cpt. J. Lukes – 1983

A. Taylor – 1983

D. Webb – 1983

(of the tugs Sauria, Alfred and Ganges)

George Lawn, lorry driver – 1983

P. Burwood, Coxswain Mechanic – 1985

L. Smith, Second Coxswain – 1985

K. Brand, crew member – 1985

D. Gilders, crew member – 1985

E. Clifton, crew member – 1985

D. Gilders, Second Coxswain Assistant Mechanic – 1987

K. Brand, Emergency Mechanic – 1987

P. Dawson, crew member – 1987

P. Smith, crew member – 1987

R. Barton, crew member – 1987

Cpt. R. Shaw, Honorary Secretary, crew member – 1987

H. Bell, Branch Chairman, crew member – 1987

Paul Smith, Second Coxswain – 2001

• A Letter of Thanks signed by the Deputy Director

Masters of the tug Gray Delta – 1983

Masters of the tug Gary Gray – 1983

Cpt. H. H. McGibney of the European Gateway – 1983

• 11 Medals, awarded by The Hospitaliers Sauveteurs Bretons

Coxswain and crew of the steam lifeboat – 1908

• Member, Order of the British Empire (MBE)

Cpt. Roderick Willis Shaw, Honorary Lifeboat Operations Manager – 2013QBH

Pre ON numbers are unofficial numbers used by the Lifeboat Enthusiast Society to reference early lifeboats not included on the official RNLI list.

• List of RNLI stations
• List of former RNLI stations
• Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboats